Active History in an Age of Austerity

Tom Peace recently published a post on Active History calling attention to the emergence of another round of the History Wars, but the more pressing forthcoming history war may be one between the historical community and the politics of austerity. Budget cuts at the municipal, provincial, and federal levels of government across the country have targeted cultural and heritage institutions, threatening the integrity of the capacity of Canada to maintain an adequate understanding of its collective past.

Reckless tax-cuts combined with a global economic crisis have conspired at all levels of government across Canada to persuade the country’s political leadership to use ballooning budget deficits to justify substantial service cuts with very little public debate and a tenuous political mandate. During the 2011 federal election, the Conservative Party of Canada made a commitment to balance the federal budget by 2014-15 (one which it recently abandoned), “[t]hrough accelerated reductions in government spending” without raising any taxes. Unfortunately, the promise to balance the budget through spending cuts offered no details except that a Conservative government would continue “specific measures to restrain the growth of program spending” and complete, “within one year, a comprehensive review of government spending” [1]. The most detail on these “specific measures” that the Prime Minister offered to voters during the campaign was that “We know there is fat to be saved.”

Similarly, mayoral candidate, Rob Ford, told Toronto voters there was ample “gravy” to be eliminated from the city budget without clearly defining his meaning of “gravy”. In fact, it was that simple message with no details that probably won over Toronto voters in 2010.

The Canadian Association of University Teachers has taken a leadership role with its opposition to the cuts to Library and Archives Canada through an information and petition campaign called “Save Library and Archives Canada”. The federal government’s “modernization” program for LAC has led to a series of substantial service cuts that have undermined its ability to acquire and preserve a diverse collection of artistic, cultural, and historical materials relating to Canada’s past. Readers who oppose such cuts should lend their names to the petition here.

At the municipal level in Toronto, Councillor Joe Mihevc has revealed that closed-door budget planning proposes to shutter four Toronto museums, including the Market Gallery, Gibson House, Montgomery’s Inn and Zion Schoolhouse. The historical community, once again, is trying to clearly voice its opposition through an information and petition campaign. Again, readers can sign the petition to stop these cuts here. Canadian historians from Toronto’s universities have also written an open letter [PDF] to city council opposing the museum closures.

As a proportion of the budgets of the federal government and the City of Toronto, cultural and heritage institutions are insubstantial. For example, the proposed closure of the four museums in Toronto is projected to save about $1 million, according to a Toronto Star report. This constitutes just a fraction of the city’s $9.2 billion 2010 budget. In 2010, the federal government spent $124.5 million on the operation of Library and Archives Canada. This constituted 3.5% of all spending by Canadian Heritage that year. To put this in further perspective, the cost of LAC in 2010 was just 0.06% of the total ministerial net expenditures of about $225 billion.[2]

If the proportional cost of cultural and heritage institutions is so low relative to total budget expenses, one can assume then that cuts to these services are ideologically motivated. These services have been targeted for cutbacks not because they constitute substantial expenses for government, but because these governments do not see cultural and historical preservation as a significant public responsibility. If readers disagree with these governments and believe that libraries, museums, and archives are valuable public institutions, signing these petitions will begin to let it be known.